St Francis Catholic Primary School

St Francis Catholic Primary School is described in the report as a school reborn after the difficulties of its predecessor school and its move into The Cardinal Newman Catholic Educational Trust in 2022. This was its first section 5 inspection and its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic; under the current framework, no overall effectiveness grade was awarded. Inspectors found the school performing well across the key judgements, with high ambition, pupils achieving well by the end of key stage 2 and effective safeguarding arrangements. Pupils are polite, courteous and eloquent, behave well in class and benefit from a nurturing ethos and highly positive relationships with parents. The trust has been central to improvement, helping to stabilise leadership and develop a well-ordered curriculum, and staff speak positively about the support they receive. Pupils with SEND access the same broad curriculum as their peers, early reading has improved, attendance is improving and close to national figures, and personal development is strong through charity work, the choir, visits to places of worship and leadership roles. Two main areas need further work. Assessment is still developing, so staff do not always consider well enough what pupils can already do or provide tasks that deepen knowledge fully. In addition, a few pupils have phonics gaps caused by earlier teaching that was not as rigorous, although additional support is helping them catch up. Governance and trust oversight are strong and provide accurate challenge and support.

Strengths

• High ambition and strong achievement by the end of key stage 2
• Polite, courteous and eloquent pupils who behave well
• Nurturing ethos with older pupils supporting younger peers
• Strong support for pupils with SEND, who access the same broad curriculum
• Well-thought-out, logically ordered curriculum supported by trust expertise
• Effective phonics teaching now in place, with books matched to pupils' sounds
• Attendance improving and close to national figures
• Highly positive relationships with parents and carers
• Strong trust support through leadership changes and school improvement
• Accurate governance and trustee challenge
• Personal development promotes empathy, charity and understanding of other faiths and British values
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment use is still developing and does not always take enough account of prior learning
• Some tasks do not sufficiently deepen pupils' knowledge
• A few pupils have phonics gaps caused by earlier less rigorous teaching

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at St Francis Catholic Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at St Francis Catholic Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 St Francis Catholic Primary School had 19.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 14.1% of pupils at St Francis Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 St Francis Catholic Primary School received £7,079 and spent £6,898 for each of its 143 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £140,000 (£978 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of The Cardinal Newman Catholic Educational Trust, income was £6,065 and spending £6,112 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in North Somerset · North Somerset local authority: places and applications

St Francis Catholic Primary School is part of The Cardinal Newman Catholic Educational Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Portishead
• St Bernard's Catholic Primary School Bristol
• St Bonaventure's Catholic Primary School Bristol
• St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School Bristol
• St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Bristol
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Bristol

What is St Francis Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Francis Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was St Francis Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Francis Catholic Primary School was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does St Francis Catholic Primary School have?

St Francis Catholic Primary School has 142 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Francis Catholic Primary School cover?

St Francis Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Francis Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 69% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Francis Catholic Primary School?

St Francis Catholic Primary School is at Station Road, Nailsea, Somerset, BS48 4PD.